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Post by hazel on Jun 4, 2022 20:15:00 GMT
today in the seven hours i was out marina got sick and died, aged two
she swelled up suddenly around midday, "like a balloon", and couldn't breathe properly, by the time i got back rigor mortis had set in
the other two are fine. could this have been the outcome of a birth defect?
- her head was shaped slightly differently, more like a rat's head
- she never really trusted us, was the last to leave the cage and the last to get back in
- rarely helped build up the nest
- seemed generally not as quick as the other two
- slightly larger body mass
in her last moments she had "deflated" slightly (not my words, i didn't see this) and was eating
if so at least i'll have the consolation of thinking the other two will be fine. please don't let this be a parasite or something... generally i think they eat too many fresh greens for their own good, it's really bad but i'm in the habit of giving them stumps of cabbage stalk to gnaw on. i won't from now on and i really hope that wasn't it
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 5, 2022 10:29:38 GMT
I'm sorry to hear about Marina.
It's very difficult to comment on causes of death but the two main causes of rapid swelling up are mouth breathing due to an obstruction in the nose or more unusually trapped wind from eating something. I don't recall a degu dying from trapped wind before but brassicas can certainly cause trapped wind in degus as they do in humans, so I would limit cabbage in future and make sure all fresh greens are fed in a good variety. I would think there would have to be another issue going on for trapped wind to cause such a problem but it's impossible to say what.
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Post by bouncy on Jun 5, 2022 16:27:57 GMT
I'm so sorry!
As molette says, we can't really offer any guidance on cause. The only person who could tell you is a very who has performed a post mortem.
Unfortunately, sudden death can occur at any age, and in any species. It's impossible to predict or anticipate. I lost Squidgy suddenly. He was also two. He was fine and running around at 4pm and 6pm with his best friend Sausage. The first I knew was when he didn't appear when I opened the cage for free-range later that evening.
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Post by hazel on Jun 6, 2022 21:05:26 GMT
I'm so sorry! As molette says, we can't really offer any guidance on cause. The only person who could tell you is a very who has performed a post mortem. Unfortunately, sudden death can occur at any age, and in any species. It's impossible to predict or anticipate. I lost Squidgy suddenly. He was also two. He was fine and running around at 4pm and 6pm with his best friend Sausage. The first I knew was when he didn't appear when I opened the cage for free-range later that evening. that's awful.... it makes me too sad for words to think of a tiny dead body in among living degus. a thought that's been troubling me lately is, do the others know? can they guess what's happened to their disappeared half-sister/daughter? if so, will they make the same inference for the pups they were separated from as pups/new mothers? i tend to anthropomorphise, but degus are pretty smart. how awful....i hope I'm not depressing you. |
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Post by yasmin on Jun 7, 2022 2:12:35 GMT
From my experience, it seems that each degu reacts differently - just like us humans. Some miss their departed friend, going up to their body and sitting with it or looking for their friend; others seem to not be affected at all. Not sure what happened to your dear Marina, but my degu Chuugi passed away in a similar manner from gastric torsion/bloat. He was fine one moment, and then suddenly bloated up so severely that he was in great distress. I tried to give him Ovol (simethicone) which had helped other of my degus in the past, and rushed him to the vet, but Chuugi's stomach was so twisted that there was no way to save him. Not 100% sure what caused the bloat but the vet thought it may have been clover leaves - it was May and the snow had melted and fresh greenery was popping up everywhere, so I had just plucked some clover leavers and had given each degu a leaf or two. Unfortunately, what I hadn't realized, is that the first spring growth of clover contains a lot of some compound that can bring on bloat easily. All my other degus were fine, but poor Chuugi's stomach twisted. (From then on, I wait until June before feeding my goos any greens from my property.) Sincere condolences, hazel.  What a shock it is. Rest in peace, little one. |
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What a shock it is.